A light-sensitive material, particularly a silver halide photographic material usually contains a dye, which functions as an antiirradiation dye, an antihalation dye or a filter dye that absorbs a light of a specific wavelength. An oxonol compound has been known as a representative photographic dye.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,247,127, 3,469,985, 4,078,933, British Patent Nos. 506,385, 1,177,429, 1,311,884, 1,338,799, 1,433,102, 1,467,214, 1,553,516, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication Nos. 48(1973)-85130, 49(1974)-114420, 55(1980)-161233 and 59(1984)-111640 disclose oxonol dyes having a pyrazolone nucleus or a barbituric acid nucleus. Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 5(1993)-197079 discloses an oxonol dye having a furanone or thiophene skeleton. U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,165 discloses an oxonol dye having a pyrrolinone skeleton. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,533,472, 3,379,533 and British Patent No. 1,278,621 disclose other oxonol dyes.
In the case that an oxonol dye is used as a photographic (antiirradiation, antihalation or filter) dye, the dye functions at the step of imagewise exposing a silver halide photographic material to light. After the exposing step, the dye should be removed or bleached at the step of developing or fixing the photographic material. If the dye is not sufficiently removed or bleached from the photographic material, the image (particularly white background) would be colored with the remaining dye. Further, a photographic system has another problem that the dye is accumulated in a developing solution. A recent photographic system requires a rapid development process. The above-mentioned problems about the dyes are remarkable in the rapid development process.
In the case that an oxonol dye is used as an antihalation dye, an absorption spectrum is the important factor of the dye. It has been known that the absorption spectrum can be changed by attaching a substituent group to a methine chain of the dye. European Patent No. 397,435 discloses an oxonol dye having a five, six or seven-membered carbon cyclic, heterocyclic or condensed cyclic group on a methine chain of the dye. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,653,905 and 4,042,397 disclose barbituric acid oxonol dyes, which may have a methine chain substituted with an alkyl group, an aralkyl group, an aryl group or carboxyl. U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,950 discloses an oxonol dye having a pyrazolone skeleton and a methine chain substituted with acetyl. Japanese Patent Provisional Publication Nos. 8(1996)-50346 and 8(1996)-109334 describe that the coloring of the white background can be prevented by introduction of a substituent group into a methine chain of an oxonol dye.